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NASA

Submission + - NASA's Twin GRAIL Probes Complete Primary Mission Ahead of Schedule (gizmag.com)

Submitted by Zothecula
Zothecula writes: After entering orbit around the Moon at the start of the year, NASA’s twin GRAIL (Gravity Recovery And Interior Laboratory) probes, Ebb and Flow, have completed their primary mission to study the Moon’s interior structure ahead of schedule. Operating around the clock since March 8, NASA says the spacecraft have provided unprecedented detail about the interior structure and evolution of the Moon and the data they have gathered will provide insights into how Earth and its rocky neighbors in the inner solar system developed.
IT

Submission + - IT staff, engineers among top 10 toughest jobs to fill in US (networkworld.com) 3

Submitted by
coondoggie
coondoggie writes: "Forty-nine percent of US companies are having a hard time filling what workforce management firm ManpowerGroup calls mission-critical positions within their organizations with IT staff, engineers and "skilled trades" among the toughest spots to fill. The group surveyed some 1,300 employers and noted that US companies are struggling to find talent, despite continued high unemployment, over their global counterparts, where 34% of employers worldwide are having difficulty filling positions."
Portables

Submission + - LTE integrated quad-core CPUs on the horizon (pcauthority.com.au)

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: Around the world, astute watchers of the smartphone market have noticed that despite “quad-core” CPUs rapidly becoming the norm, there is a noticeable absence of quad-core 4G phones. At the moment there are no handsets on the market that combine the highest CPU speeds with the highest network speeds. “Flagship” quad core phones like the HTC One X and the Samsung Galaxy S3 all have dual core versions for their 4G options. As this article explains, battery life issues are partly to blame. One of the big issues comes from the fact that there are no quad-core processors with integrated LTE chips — something that would vastly improve battery life. Both Qualcomm and Nvidia make LTE radios and quad-core processors, but the two haven’t been paired on the die as of yet, although this is being worked on.
Digital

Submission + - Nikon D800 v Canon's new EOS 5D Mark III (pcmag.com)

Submitted by UnknowingFool
UnknowingFool writes: Canon today unveiled their next generation of professional DSLR, the EOS 5D Mark III. The base specifications are full frame 22MP, up to ISO 102400, 6 fps photo speed, 1080p video at 24/25/30 fps. This model is designed to compete against Nikon's D800 ($3000 body) unveiled in January. Starting at $3500 for the body, these are not meant for your average shutterbug.

Comment Clarification (Score 4, Funny) 441

by NeveRBorN (#39215365) Attached to: RIAA CEO Hopes SOPA Protests Were a "One-Time Thing"

Clearly,

Since the way we communicate has changed greatly since the arrival of the internet, and there people afraid to embrace that change, we the denizens of the internet are in the wrong.

Seriously, My daughter's arguments for why she shouldn't have to do her homework are more well thought out than Mr. Sherman's.
Space

Submission + - Any Exoplanet Possible in a 'Compulsive' Universe (discovery.com) 1

Submitted by
astroengine
astroengine writes: ""Exoplanet discoveries have shown us that if it isn't forbidden by the laws of thermodynamics and Newtonian physics, then it is compulsive," said Virginia Trimble of the University of California at Irvine during the American Astronomical Society meeting in Austin, Texas, last week. It appears that if you can imagine it, without breaking any laws of physics, then any kind of alien world is possible. Does this go for alien life too? "We will ultimately reach that summit with the eventual discovery that life is a condition of the universe," hypothesizes Discovery News' Ray Villard. "In other words, that self-replicating matter is nature's favorite form of self-expression.""
Medicine

Submission + - New species-jumping infection discovered. (sciencemag.org)

Submitted by RockDoctor
RockDoctor writes: Diseases caused by organisms moving from one host to another host, and then becoming more virulent in the process, or starting to spread even further, are well known and a cause of real concern to doctors — of both humans and animals. For example, Anthrax has long been known as an annoying disease of cattle, but when humans become infected with the spores it can become both dangerous and be transmitted human-to-human. The haemmoragic fevers (examples : Ebola and Marburg viruses) are more nasty examples. In the 1970s, 1980s, and into the 1990s, barbaric and cannibalistic livestock management practices led to the movement of the disease scrapie from sheep (where it has been known for centuries) into cattle and then into humans with a human death toll likely to reach the thousands.

Veterinary scientists in Belgium, German and the Netherlands are concerned about a new disease emerging in their cattle, sheep and goat herds. While the associated fever and loss of milk production are economically concerning, the disease also leads to many still births and developmental disorders in the foetuses such as hydraencephaly ("water on the brain") and scoliosis (curvature of the spine). Which are frequently disabling if not lethal.

The causative organism has been identified as a virus in a family transmitted by mosquitoes and midges. Related viruses are known to infect cattle, sheep, buffalo, camels, dogs and (ominously) "other species". That is a fairly wide spread of target organisms, which would mean that animal-to-human transmission cannot be ruled out on principle.

"[These]viruses have been neglected for a long time, and we just don't know a lot about them," says a researcher, than adding "The problem with [them] is that their segmented genome makes the emergence of new combinations very easy, just like with influenza viruses,"

In a dig at the insanity of patent systems, the article adds "In order not to lose time and to answer the most pressing questions fast, [a research centre] has decided not to file for any patents on [this virus]-related discoveries. "Our resources are limited," [another researcher] says, "and we are happy to share our knowledge and materials with anyone interested in it for noncommercial or commercial reasons."

My joy at hearing this news is immeasurable, since getting bitten by midges is a normal part of my summer hill-walking. Just what the world needs ; another novel disease coming out of the unknown!

Submission + - Constitutionality of RIAA Damages Challenged (blogspot.com)

Submitted by NewYorkCountryLawyer
NewYorkCountryLawyer writes: In SONY BMG Music Entertainment v. Tenenbaum, defendant has filed a motion for new trial, attacking, among other things, the constitutionality of the jury's $675,000 award as being violative of due process. In his 32-page brief (PDF), Tenenbaum argues that the award exceeded constitutional due process standards, both under the Court's 1919 decision in St. Louis Railway v. Williams, as well as under its more recent authorities State Farm v. Campbell and BMW v. Gore. Defendant also argues that the Court's application of fair use doctrine was incorrect, that statutory damages should not be imposed against music consumers, and that the Court erred in a key evidentiary ruling.

Submission + - Microsoft China Borrows from Plurk (plurk.com)

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: Microsoft China recently released it's Juku service in asia which they are touting as a local innovation. In reality, the site appears to be a blatant copy Plurk, a micro-blogging site that has become very popular in asia.
Microsoft

Submission + - Microsoft China rips off Plurk.com

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: Microsoft China has ripped off Asia’s biggest microblogging site Plurk.com. Microsoft China has copied most of the design and ~80% of the client code base. This is ironic considering Microsoft has often been leading the charge on fighting for stronger IP laws and combating software piracy in China.

Read more:
http://blog.plurk.com/2009/12/14/microsoft-rips-plurk/

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